HUGE shout-out to Grammy-nominated Nathan East for hitting 4…

Yes, 4 of Billboard‘s BEST OF 2014 lists, with his debut solo album!

Nathan’s self titled album is also nominated for the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at The GRAMMYs!!

Music and Jazz legend, Bob James was inducted into the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance Hall of Fame on October 31, 2014. (continue reading…)

Imagine practicing playing on this beauty AND getting personalized feedback from Chuck Loeb of Fourplay to help you play your best!

Every person who signs up will be entered to win this guitar…Click Here to Register!

Designed for lovers of the classic “EL FIVE”, the LS-17 offers the following features:

• 17″ body
• 2-3/4″ body depth
• 5 ply laminate flame maple construction
• 25.5″ scale
• Ebony fingerboard with 1-11/16″ nut width
• Ebony bridge and tailpiece
• Ivoroid Binding
• Nitrocellulose lacquer finish
• Black hardware
• Custom wound vintage PAF style pickup with black cover
• Hardshell case

ArtistWorks and Sadowsky Guitars are excited to celebrate the launch of Chuck Loeb’s Online Jazz Guitar School with such a gorgeous example of instrumental craftsmanship as this archtop Sadowsky LS-17. Imagine learning jazz guitar DIRECTLY from Chuck Loeb on this major league masterpiece. Its incredibly beautiful aesthetic combines with a well-deserved reputation for playability to make this an ideal instrument for both the expert and the beginner. Must be 18 or older to enter.  Ends August 31st, 2014.

Click Here to Register!

The Hall of Fame Award (formerly Citation of Merit) was established to recognize and honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to society, their profession, the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, one of its departments or programs, or to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Alumni Society. This award has been presented annually since 1977.

Bob James is a two-time GRAMMY award-winning smooth jazz keyboardist, arranger and producer. James is recognized as one of the progenitors of smooth jazz, however, his music has also had a profound effect on the history of hip hop music, having been sampled often. Two of James’ songs – “Nautilus” from 1974’s Oneand “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” from 1975’s Two  – are among the most sampled in hip hop history. He was discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1963, and subsequently recorded his first solo album, Bold Conceptions, that year for Mercury Records.

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Check out Chuck Loeb’s new online Jazz Guitar School!

One of the most important things in Jazz Guitar is being able to improvise. To pull off a good solo, you need to know which key and scales work with the backing chords. What can be confusing when learning jazz guitar is that there are a variety of patterns and locations to play the same scale. It’s important to know the most efficient way of finding the right notes for the desired key from anywhere on the neck as you move around.

The way to do this is to learn the geography of the fretboard and understand how the notes relate to each other – which brings us to what Chuck Loeb refers to throughout his jazz guitar lessons as “The 6 Positions.”

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